One is Reborn through One’s Deeds

Monks, beings are the owners of their Kamma, the heirs of their Kamma; they have Kamma as their origin, Kamma as their relative, Kamma as their resort; whatever Kamma they do, wholesome or unwholesome, they are its heirs.

Here, having abandoned the destruction of life, someone abstains from the destruction of life; with the rod and weapon laid aside, dedicated and kindly, he resides compassionate toward all living beings. He does not creep along by body, speech, and mind. His bodily Kamma is straight; his verbal Kamma is straight; his mental Kamma is straight. His destination is straight; his rebirth is straight.

But for one with a straight destination and rebirth, I say, there is one of two destinations: either the exclusively pleasant heavens or influential families, such as those of affluent Khattiyas, affluent Brāhmins, or affluent Householders, [families that are] rich, with great wealth and property, abundant gold and silver, abundant treasures and belongings, abundant wealth and grain.

Thus a being is reborn from a being; one is reborn through one’s deeds. When one has been reborn, contacts affect one.

It is in this way, I say, that beings are the heirs of their Kamma.

(The Tathāgata spoke of ‘abandoning of taking what is not given’ and ‘abandoning of sexual misconduct’ with discourses similar to that of ‘abandoning taking life’: He also spoke of ‘the fourfold wholesome conduct of speech and the threefold wholesome conduct of mind’ in the same way.)

(Reference: AN 10.216)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how rebirth occurs based on one’s deeds or actions.

While craving is the fuel that determines if there is rebirth, it is the results of our actions that determines where and in what condition one will be reborn. The location and condition of one’s rebirth is determined by The Natural Law of Kamma.

Rebirth: a new being that has come into existence through The Cycle of Rebirth based on a previous being’s craving and Kamma.

Gotama Buddha taught rebirth through The Cycle of Rebirth.

Rebirth is a new existence of a new being that has been reborn based on a previous being’s craving. Craving is the fuel that causes rebirth. If there is craving at the time of death, there will be rebirth into a new existence. If Enlightenment has been attained (i.e. all craving, anger, and ignorance are fully extinguished), there will be no rebirth.

The new being may or may not have residual memories of previous existences in its new consciousness that may be recalled over time during the new being’s life. Rebirth is not based on a permanent soul or spirit of any kind but instead is caused by the craving of the previous being which produces a new birth into a new existence.

Each new birth is a new existence or new life. In reality, this should be shared and discussed as The Cycle of New Existence because there is nothing that is actually being reborn.

Kamma of the previous being will determine the destination and life situation of the new being. Kamma of the previous being determines in which realm the new being will be reborn, Hell, Animal, Afflicted Spirits, Human, or the Heavenly realm. Kamma from the previous being also determines the quality of life of the new being. For example, the family and life situation (poverty vs. wealth) one is born into, the appearance of the new being, and the condition of the new being’s body and mind are all determined based on the Kamma of the previous being.

If the previous being generated significant amounts of wholesome Kamma to be reborn into the human realm, the new being is reborn into a favorable destination within a wealthy family, beautiful appearance, and/or with a healthy body and mind.

If the previous being generated significant amounts of unwholesome Kamma, the new being is reborn into an unfavorable destination of the lower realms (Hell, Animal, or Afflicted Spirits Realm) or if reborn into the human realm, the being will be reborn into difficult circumstances in the new existence based on the previous being’s Kamma.

Difficult circumstances that result from the previous being’s Kamma would include what realm the new being is reborn, what part of the world, the type of family, the amount of wealth, ability to acquire necessities to sustain life, appearance, and the health of the body and the mind.

Craving determines if there is rebirth while Kamma determines in what realm, what situation, and the condition of the new being upon rebirth.

The Buddha shares that when one has wholesome conduct through body, speech, and mind, one’s Kamma (i.e. results) are also wholesome (i.e. straight). Therefore, with wholesome (i.e. straight) bodily, verbal, and mental conduct one’s rebirth is wholesome or straight.

The Buddha provides guidance on wholesome bodily, verbal, and mental conduct throughout his Teachings. Specifically, you can see Chapter 7 of this book for detailed explanation of these Teachings.